The Man In The Memory
by Tadpole24
Summary: In that second he stood alone. Alone until he wasn't. BB
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone**

**I got this idea for this fic a while back. I started writing it in April of 2008 and then abandoned it. Lately, I've been getting requests to finish it and finally, I feel up to the challenge. I am rewriting the entire thing though as I feel my writing style has changed since I last wrote this story**

**I truly hope I can finish it this time. I have a better idea of where I want it to go this time and I feel that now, after two more season of Bones, that Booth and Brennan are more ready for this storyline too. **

**I have it roughly set after season 4. The tumour and such that Booth suffered through will not be a main part of the story though. But I do need Booth and Brennan to have the bond that they seemed to have strengthened over season 4; that all being said, there will be a lot of throwback to season 1, 2 and 3. Hopefully I can integrate it all.**

**Because I know my track record with multi-chaps I am trying a new little format to help me get through this story. I'm going to try and tackle each chapter as though it's a one shot, so for me that means that there will be minimal dialogue. I feel like I lose stories if I write too much dialogue. So fingers crossed for this to go to plan. **

**Any feedback is greatly appreciated and I would like to thank you lovely people who helped me realise I can't leave a story unfinished. **

**Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Bones doesn't belong to me. It hurts, but it's true. **

..:::..

The Man in the Memory

Chapter One

..:::..

The gun was pointed squarely in Ortez's mouth. The words from Booth's lips were heated and angry; threatening. He wanted to be the most threatening person in the world. This man; this excuse of a man, had put a hit out on his partner and there was not a snowball's chance in hell of that hit coming to fruition. Not if he could help it.

He shoved the gang leader a little harder up against the door frame, twisting the gun; making sure it hit the back of Ortez's throat; watching him gag a little. He could shoot this man and no one would question it. FBI's golden boy saves hundreds of lives bringing down the notorious gang leader, Ortez. He could do it. He would kill for his partner.

He pushed him again, violent words emitted from his mouth as he watched his victims eyes contort in fear. For a micro second, Booth lost his concentration and glanced to the tattooed snake under Ortez's eye.

In that second he stood alone.

He stumbled forwards no longer supported by the door frame; the gang leader, disappeared. His surroundings were dark and dank. He could feel the cold creeping all over him, the damp feeling of being alone. It stuck to him in annoying ways and he wanted nothing more than to get out of there.

He took a step forward; and another; his surroundings never changing. He ran at full speed in no direction at all; the dim glow of the sewer like place around him never baring any hints to where freedom might be. He stopped and looked around, hoping to see something that would help him.

In the distance there was a glow; lighter than the rest of the horrible place he was in; and so he ran toward it; each of his ten long strides taking him only a metre. It was painstakingly slow, but he knew he had to reach the glow.

As he approached he noticed more and more features of the light he was following. It seemed it was a woman he was chasing after; a woman with auburn hair and bright blue eyes.

Bright blue fearful eyes

"Bones," he whispered

He glanced behind him then, seeing the source of the fear in his partner's eyes. He_ had_ to get to her. His strides became longer and faster. He could feel the burn in his legs the pain of pushing his body to the limits. The adrenaline coursed through his veins as he gradually stepped closer and closer to his partner...

But as the giant snake slid easily past him, he knew he had no hope. No hope of keeping his beautiful Bones safe.

He woke with a start, the sweat pouring from his brow, and glanced at his clock.

Seven minutes past five.

He sighed and rolled out of bed, unwilling to go back to the dream he'd been having. He didn't understand why after all these years those dreams still haunted him. He knew Bones was safe; in fact, she was probably safe at home in her bed right this second. He looked at his phone once and then shook his head. He couldn't call her at this hour.

He wandered to the shower and turned it on as hot as he could bear it; allowing it to work out the tension in his muscles. He sighed in frustration, the day hadn't even begun.

..:::..

It was supposed to be her day off but Temperance Brennan just couldn't seem to get the hang of sleeping in past six. She really hated the concept of the 'rostered day off' anyway. It's not like she was tired, obviously. And although she and Booth had wrapped their last case and done all the paperwork and prepped for the court date which was in two weeks time, she had plenty of work to do. As she kept reminding Cam, she was a cultural anthropologist before she became Booth's partner.

Booth

Booth wouldn't push her away if she worked with him for the day. She didn't mind that she wasn't getting paid; it's not like she was in any kind of financial trouble, what with her book sales reaching record highs. And Cam wouldn't know about it; how could she? She'd be stuck at the lab all day with one less staff member.

Brennan rolled out of bed and headed towards her living room, her day looking better already.

She opened the curtains that looked out over her neighbourhood, revelling in the early morning sunlight filtering through the last of the night fog. She really did love waking up as early as she did, if for nothing else but to see the sunrise over the city she called home.

She checked her watch; six thirty. Booth wouldn't even be awake yet, let alone at work. Although, she had noticed that since his surgery he had been logging more hours at work. She experienced a heavy bout of role reversal just the other day when she had had to visit her partner in his office at 8 o'clock at night and literally drag him out of his work place to go and get some dinner. It really was quite frustrating to see him working himself into the ground like that. If she was honest with herself, which truth be known, she was trying to be, she would say that what Booth was putting himself through was heartbreaking.

He was pushing himself harder and harder to make up for the time he'd lost while recovering. She knew what being Catholic did to your guilt factor; but she was worried about how much Booth was blaming himself for not catching the tumour earlier and saving time on his recovery.

Over the course of the last few weeks though, she had to admit, she did feel closer to her partner. There was hardly a day in between them seeing each other. Even on a day off such as today they were together. Brennan had even been spending time with Parker too. At first she was scared of what that meant, but Booth rationalised it for her; they were just close friends who shared a lot of their lives with each other. He wasn't confusing her with his fantasy Brennan; he just wanted her in his life.

The sun had risen to a point in the sky where it seemed as though it was floating; no longer attached to the horizon. She glanced at her watch again; seven fifteen. She sighed; Booth still wouldn't be at work. She stood up and went to the window again to look out over the awakening city; maybe she could just people watch until a more socially reasonable hour.

She was just about to make some coffee when she heard the gunshots ring out from afar.

..:::..

**Next chapter will be up soon. :) Keep an eye out if you liked the first**

**Em**

**xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**There are some added extras to this chapter that weren't in the original. I hope they go alright.**

**Also, if you read the original, the Parker parts will come later.**

**PS...Does Cullen still exist? I'm using him for the purposes of this story...but does he still exist?**

**Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Fan fiction allows me to imagine that I own Bones...but deep down, I know I don't. **

..:::..

The Man in the Memory

Chapter Two

..:::..

_Ten years ago..._

Seeley Booth sat on top of the concrete building, his steady hand at the ready, his dominating eye locked on the target. The Serb; General Raddick.

The sun beat down on his back making him sweat. He could feel the fluid dripping off his body and dissolving into the porous ground around him. He would not flinch though.

His commanding officer had told his team of how Raddick had wiped out 232 people without remorse; without a shred of pain for the people he had killed. Two-hundred and thirty two lives just...gone.

Booth played with the trigger; waiting for a clear shot.

Raddick had his back to the sniper; Booth may have been a killer, but he was not a dog shot. Raddick would face him when he died. Booth would feel the remorse that the General never could. It was hard to see what was really going on in the small house, but it looked like a celebration of some kind. Booth could hear music coming from the open window and as Raddick stepped to the side he saw a small boy emerge from behind the crowd of people in the undersized room. The boy hugged the General and Booth felt his heart drop. He knew his target, he knew his mission, but it did not make him any less horrified that he would have to kill this boy's father in front of him.

As Raddick moved further to the side, Booth noticed a cake with candles atop it sitting on the round table that everyone was crowded around; a birthday cake. He tried to count the candles; six or seven; it was the boy's birthday. His heart dropped further.

The sniper adjusted his rifle to suit the new position of Raddick. He twisted the silencer, making sure it was doing its job and with his commanding officer's words running through his head, he took the shot.

In the time it took for the screams to reach his ears, a different tune was playing in his head; music; music of happiness; the polar opposite of the scene before him, playing over and over.

..:::..

_Present day..._

Special Agent Seeley Booth sat at his desk at 7:20am, his head in his hands, wondering what the catalyst for the horrible thoughts that had been running through his head these past few days was.

He and Brennan had been on good terms of late; really good terms, in fact. Since his surgery, they had spent a lot of time together, reconnecting and remembering. Things were back in top form as far as their case solve rate went and on a personal level they had never been better, that was, apart from the occasional slip when Booth would call his partner 'Bren' instead of 'Bones'; but even those slips were becoming few and far between.

He remembered the last time that the bad dreams involving his partner had plagued him was just after he had been shot; just after he had faked his death and been accused of not trusting Brennan. They had been on bad terms then and he had worried that because of him not being there to protect her, she was more vulnerable to attack. But now, they were fine and she was fine. So why were the dreams haunting him once again.

He missed his son; that was a given. Rebecca had taken him away with Captain Fantastic to Florida for the last 2 weeks to meet the in-law's which meant that Booth hadn't seen him for nearly 2 weeks. But the absence of Parker from his life had never triggered such horrible dreams before. He wondered for a second though, if he could get Parker back a few days early by telling Rebecca he'd been having bad dreams; he'd counted the days and they should have been back in the state late last night so it wasn't as though he was asking for much. Since the surgery his ex-girlfriend had been walking on egg shells around him. It wouldn't be so bad to exploit it just once.

He shook his head.

He'd just have to battle on through it.

The ringing of his phone broke through into his reverie, pulling him back to reality with a heavy tug.

"Booth"

Cullen's voice answered him, "Agent Booth, I know it's early, but there's been a sniper shot just outside the city; the ballistics team have requested you. I know you're not into flesh these days, but you're a law enforcement official and some law needs some enforcing."

"Of course, sir; just send me the address and I'll be right on it"

He stood and pulled on his jacket waiting for the text message to come through telling him where to go.

He knew Bones had a day off, but he considered swinging by her place to pick her up and show her what a little bit of FBI action entailed outside of all the science mumbo jumbo that she brought with her. The thing about spending so much time together was that he knew that on her day off she would only be looking for work to do anyway.

He looked at his phone as the message came through and his plans changed immediately as he saw his partners address pop up on his screen.

..:::..

Brennan pulled herself from the floor. She had hit the ground as soon as she heard the shots; her martial arts instincts told her that down was the safest place to be. The sounds of gunshots and fragmented glass hadn't been far away so she knew that she had to alert someone. Even as she thought it, the fire alarm went off.

Efficient evacuation;

Smart.

She grabbed her keys from the table and made a move to her door, not seeing her flashing phone alerting her to the fact that her frantic partner was trying to call her.

..:::..

**I know, I know. **

**It's not much. But at least the filler chapter is out of the way early. Plus you got a little glimpse into just how close Booth and Bones are. :)**

**Drama commences next chapter. I promise.**

**Em**

**xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**For a change of pace, we're doing a flash forward, just keeping it interesting. Hope I haven't lost anyone with the muddled up continuity. It'll all come together; you just have to stick it out with me. **

**The beginning of this chapter is inspired by bite-or-avoid, an author who has an innate ability to create a story from nothing but dialogue. Something I can only aspire to...I tried, but I had to bulk it up. Lol **

**It was also brought to my attention last chapter that I had been misusing semicolons. I apologise if my punctuation has disrupted the flow of this story and I have amended my writing for this and forth coming chapters. I didn't even realise I was doing it. Whoops. That reader left an anonymous review, so just a thank you here will have to suffice. :)**

**Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I saw a shooting star last night and wished for Bones to be mine. Nothing. Shooting stars granting wishes = myth.**

..:::..

The Man in the Memory

Chapter Three

..:::..

_A day later..._

"Bones?"

"Mmm"

"Oh good, you're awake"

"I wasn't asleep, Parker"

"Oh, can I ask you something?"

"You already did, but you may ask another question"

"When are we getting out of here?"

Temperance looked at the young boy and remembered back to Christmas two years ago when Booth had told her it was okay to lie to a child if it was to build an illusion of truth, if it was to make the child feel better.

Parker's eyes reflected his fathers and she could only hope that Booth would find them.

With all the will she could muster, she looked that boy deep in the eyes and told him, "Soon."

..:::..

_Present day..._

His voice seemed distant and cold to himself even. He knew if someone was here that he knew they would want to shake him out of it, they would demand to know where the real Booth had gone.

And it had only been 30 minutes.

He continued trying to call his partner all the way to her apartment, the phone consistently ringing out and going to voicemail. His stomach dropped a little each time he heard the professional voice of his beautiful partner. It pained him that this could be the only way he could hear her voice now.

"Hi, this is Doctor Temperance Brennan. Leave your name and number and I will contact you at the next convenience."

He wondered how long it would be before they cut off her phone and he was left with nothing.

He shook his head, when had his thoughts become so cynical? He was always such an optimist. And nothing had been confirmed about his partner so far. He had arrived at the scene and within 10 minutes knew that the victim was female and was a brunette. And that was all he knew. He was angry that the police didn't have more information and he was annoyed that until the coroner directed that the body be taken to the morgue that he couldn't step inside the perimeter. He was used to having his partner with him, his partner who was qualified to examine bodies. His partner who could be the body.

He actually shushed himself, acquiring some concerned looks for his recently re-established sanity.

He was having trouble keeping it together, he knew the signs, but his partner was missing and he couldn't bear the thought of never seeing her again.

He tried her number one last time, listening intently to the voicemail message she had composed, hoping in vain that it would hold some clue to where she was right now.

"Booth!"

He hung up immediately, his eyes scanning the crowd. That voice, so sweet, could only come from one person.

"Booth, over here!"

He followed the sweet, sweet voice of his partner until he located her, her head bobbing up and down through the disgruntled crowd of people. He didn't think. For an entire moment his mind shut off and he ran towards her. In the background he could hear his fellow agents telling him that the crime scene was ready for his perusal, but right now, in this second, he was intent on one thing only.

When he finally reached her, he hugged her to his chest tight. His arms circled easily around her and his head buried itself in the crook of her neck. He breathed heavily, taking in her scent and committing it to memory, promising himself that he would never ever forget this moment, this moment of pure happiness, of pure bliss at the knowledge of his beautiful partner being safe.

She moved against him, pulling back from the hug, "Booth, I'm ok."

He looked down at her and realised that he may have over reacted a little.

But only a little.

"I'm sorry, Bones." He pulled back and let her stand on her own two feet, "You have no idea what I just went through"

She shook her head in wonder, "Of course I don't, Booth. Why would you state something so obvious?"

He just laughed, placed a hand on each side of her face and kissed her forehead before walking back towards her building to do his job.

With his focus back on the task at hand, his partner's voice was in the background telling him she was going to go and get some coffee and she would be back soon. He nodded in her direction, knowing she was safe.

"Agent Booth, quite a show you put on there." One of the other agents sneered.

"Yeah, you that touchy feely with all your partners?"

Booth didn't comment on their blatant stab at his professionalism and instead geared the conversation towards their job, "So guys, what seems to have happened here?"

The other two agents looked at each other and mutually decided to drop the topic, "Sniper shot, straight through the glass window, square between the eyes of the young lady who lived on second floor."

"She would never have seen it coming."

Booth nodded, taking the information on board, "The coroner cleared the scene yet?"

The other agents nodded, "Yeah, they're moving the body out now."

As if on cue the gurney carrying the black body bag was wheeled past them. As horrible as it all was, Booth still couldn't help but feel relieved in knowing that it wasn't his Bones in that bag.

'_His'? When had that happened?_

..:::..

**Next chapter will be up soon. This is taking a completely different turn than it was going in over a year ago...I think I like it. What do you all think? :) (Subtle hint at reviews intended)**

**Em**

**xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**How are we all doing? Still with me? :)**

**Hope so. This one up's the ante a little and the real action starts next chapter. :)**

**Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I don't own CSI, I don't own True Blood...So can I PLEASE have Bones?**

..:::..

The Man in the Memory

Chapter Four

..:::..

_Last night..._

"You finished over there, Bones?"

She looked up from her macaroni and cheese, a suspicious look on her face, "The report or the food?"

Booth tried to look innocent while concealing his very clean and empty plate, "Both."

She rolled her eyes, "Here, have some of mine," she slid the plate across the coffee table so that it was situated in the middle of them, "I was getting full, anyway."

Booth smiled and dug his fork into pile of his favourite food on Brennan's plate, "Thanks Bones," he mumbled through his now full mouth.

Resting back against the bottom of the couch he casually slung one arm behind her neck, the other hand still occupied with scraping the last remaining bits of pasta from his partner's plate, "This really is the best"

She looked at him, a grin in her eyes, "You say that every time."

He licked the last bit of the cheesy sauce from his fork and set it down with a clang of silverware against porcelain, "And I mean it every time."

There was a moment.

Just a moment

And they both felt it; the electricity flowing from his eyes to hers. She felt herself gravitating slowly towards his centre. She knew it was happening, and yet she couldn't seem to stop it. It seemed to have been happening more and more since his operation. She was powerless. And tonight, maybe tonight the boundaries would be broken and they could finally push past the one moment and make it into many.

_Too much to hope for._

Booth pulled back first, "So, how'd your half of the report go?"

She smiled and sighed; half in exasperation and half in relief, "Probably better than yours, gobble guts," she teased, reaching across the table to pick up her report.

When she returned to the couch she found comfort in that his arm was still in contact with her neck and her thigh touched his lightly. That was enough for now.

..:::..

_Present day..._

The scene was still fresh. The cool touch of death hadn't invaded the sunny room yet even though it was eerily still. There was a coffee mug sitting on the table that over looked the streets. Steam was still rising from it. Swirling into the air above it and then disappearing. The picture was one of serenity and peace. It was the calm before the storm.

Booth averted his eyes from the swirling steam and focussed on his task. He, as an ex-army sniper was brought on board this case to give any expertise on where the shot may have come from.

The calm was no more as he looked at the broken glass above the table; splinters of it spiked inwards, the clear glass dust on the floor, and the flecks of still red blood against the wall. It hadn't even faded to brown yet, he noticed, visibly shuddering.

He wondered idly when the transformation had occurred, when had raw blood become more horrifying to him than the unrecognisable remains he usually faced these days. It had once upon a time been the other way around.

He suspected a very logical and brilliant forensic anthropologist was behind it.

It took him a total of about three seconds of looking out through the window to figure out where the sniper hit had come from, "The building right across the street. That shot came straight in," he gestured to the broken glass where he could clearly see the line the shot took, "There was nothing tricky about this shot. He's a rookie." He turned to the other agents, "Get your boys to check out the roof. There'll be evidence."

The men knew they could have stuck around and teased Booth some more about the public display of affection they had witnessed earlier, but as a mark of respect they only nodded and went on their way to find their forensics teams and begin work on what would clearly be a tough case for the ex-sniper and colleague.

What they didn't know was just how hard it was going to be.

As Booth continued his perusal of the light and airy room something caught his eye. On the bookshelf off to the side of the window a photo frame was perched. It was of an ornate design, but still modern, not too over the top and rather beautiful.

Just like the woman in the frame.

Booth ran his hand across the frame, across the cool glass above the photo and gasped. If this woman in the photograph was the same woman he'd seen being wheeled out of the building in a body bag then the storm hadn't even hit yet.

He looked into the blue eyes of the woman in the frame, the same crystal blue of his partner's eyes. It was too much of a coincidence to not be noted. The woman that was shot was a doppelganger for his partner. From the crowd downstairs he had gathered that this woman had been a house maid, hardly a dangerous job. But Bones, Bones had an ongoing hit out on her. Bones had worked in cases that involved the mob and several gangs. Bones looked for danger, she didn't run from it and to top it off, Bones lived directly above this woman and Bones looked _exactly_ like this woman from a sniper's perspective.

Too much of a coincidence.

He pulled out his phone and dialled quickly,

"Hi, this is Doctor Temperance Brennan. Leave your name and number and I will contact you at the next convenience."

He groaned and once again the dark thoughts plagued his mind.

..:::..

"Temperance Brennan?"

The man had a slight accent and she couldn't quite place it at first, "That's me," she swung around, her double caramel latte in hand.

"Agent Booth sent me to pick you up and take you to the Hoover building."

He looked nervous, something Brennan didn't miss. He was wearing the standard FBI out gear, but he did look young and she wasn't convinced.

"May I see your badge?"

He smiled, "Of course," he pulled out his ID and flashed it to Brennan in a practiced manner and she was sold.

"OK. Would you like a coffee or anything to eat?" she asked politely, waving her hand at the selection behind her.

"No thank you. Agent Booth just asked that I get you back as soon as possible and I would rather not disobey his orders."

Brennan laughed as they walked towards the man's van, "He always intimidates the young ones."

It was quick.

She was pushed into the back of the van and the doors were shut soundly behind her leaving her no chance of escape. Looking around she found that even if she could escape she couldn't leave alone. Her heart raced.

Parker Booth was nestled in the corner, his head bent at an odd angle, his battered features poised in pain even though he appeared to be in a deep sleep.

The man's last words finally registered in her brain after her few moments of shock, "You have no idea about intimidating young ones."

..:::..

**Please don't hate me.**

**Next chapter up soon.**

**Em**

**xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey Lovelies,**

**All I have to say is BOY is my face red....I uploaded the wrong chapter in the wrong order! Whoops! Haha. Um, this is the real chapter 5...and I'll move chapter 6 to its rightful position. Wow and Oops. I am so sorry guys! This is what exam season does to me!**

**Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Does anyone actually read the disclaimer? Coz I'm sure no one would believe that I, a 19 year old student, could own Bones. Unless you wanna believe it, of course. :)**

..:::..

The Man in the Memory

Chapter Five

..:::..

_Last night..._

His arm was so warm against her back. His body like a furnace next to her. It was so comfortable so perfect. She sighed in content, her own breath steadying as she felt her eyes slide shut.

_No._

She couldn't fall asleep. She had to be awake. She had to be the one to wake him up.

But he did look so peaceful.

But his back would hurt.

She let the battle rage on in her mind for a moment longer before pulling herself away from his comfortable form and shaking him gently.

"Booth," she whispered, "Booth, come on, you have to wake up."

He mumbled and groaned and she was reminded of the time they had had to wake Parker up after he'd fallen asleep watching a movie with them. Like father, like son.

"Come on Booth, at least let me help you to the couch, your back's going to hurt so much if you stay here."

He groaned again and opened his eyes to be afforded the chance to look at his partner, his stunning partner. She was so close. He could see every eyelash around her blue eyes, every tiny freckle on her face. He smiled up at her and went to kiss her.

She almost didn't pull back.

But at the last second she stood up and tugged on his arms, "Come on sleepy head. You have to get to bed."

He stood with her and thought he may as well use his sleepy haze to his advantage. He stepped forwards and placed his arms around her shoulders, just hugging her close to his chest. He didn't speak and neither did she. It was a perfect, silent moment. She wound her arms around his waist and held on tight. Together they relaxed and just held on to each other, his arms burning into her back and hers into his. Their chests, stomachs, thighs all pressed against each other. He knew he couldn't rush her, but all he wanted was to kiss her, make her his.

When they finally broke apart and he said his farewell before leaving her apartment he found his thoughts had turned to one thing only, he would protect this woman at all costs. No harm could come to her.

..:::..

_Present day..._

He drove fast, lights and sirens blaring along the busy Washington streets, the Jeffersonian Institute looming up ahead. It took him a moment to park and half a moment to run to the door demanding to see all the squints together.

They all peered at him from the platform where he could clearly see a very dead person lying before them.

Cam stepped forward, "Agent Booth, Dr Brennan isn't in today."

He wanted to yell, but his run hadn't done his lung capacity any good and so he spoke calmly to the team of scientists who were so oblivious to the torment happening in his mind, "I know. Has anyone seen or heard from her today though?"

They all shook their heads or answered in the negative.

"Dammit."

"Seeley, what's wrong?"

Angela stepped towards him as well, a cup of coffee in her hand, "Yeah Booth, what's going on?"

Booth looked at the coffee, dawning comprehension lighting up his features, "Bones was getting coffee."

"OK..."

"Look, squints, there was a shooting this morning, a sniper shot. I believe that Bones was the intended target and currently she's out buying coffee, so I need to go get her. But I want you to get in contact with the FBI forensics labs; it's not a dead body, but you people are the smartest I know, so please find something in their evidence that'll help me get this guy."

Without further explanation he took off out the front doors again.

..:::..

The diner was only a few blocks from the Jeffersonian, but he had his sirens going again, alerting the city to the fact that he was a man on a mission and damned if anyone tried to stop him.

Parking illegally out front of the Royal Diner, he ran in.

After his operation, Sweets had advised that he carry around photographs of his life before the coma to reacquaint himself with that life. As he approached the counter, he pulled out the photo of himself and his partner at a company benefit from only last year.

"Rosie," one of the waitresses turned around, "Have you seen my partner in here today?"

The young woman looked Booth up and down and didn't even have to glance at the photo, "That woman you're always in here with?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"Partner? I thought she was your wife."

Booth sighed, "So did I," he blinked, wondering why he had said that, "But Rosie, have you seen her?"

Rosie nodded, "She was in here not half an hour ago. With another man."

It physically hurt him to hear those words; he'd need another consult with Sweets after all this was over, "Another man? What'd he look like?"

"Like you. Tall, dark, handsome," She smiled, "All dressed up in a suit. Young though. Almost boyish looking, like he could still be at high school."

"And did Bones leave here with him?"

"Bones?"

He was getting sloppy, "My partner," he amended.

"Yeah, they left together and that's as far as I saw."

Booth was on the run again, "Thanks Rosie, you've been a great help."

..:::..

He was halfway back to the Hoover building when his phone started ringing.

Immediately suspecting it had something to do with his partner he answered as fast as possible, "Booth."

Nothing.

And then.

A sob?

He pulled his phone away from his ear and checked the caller ID quickly, "Rebecca?"

Another sob.

"Rebecca, what's going on?"

"Parker's missing."

He pulled over two lanes of traffic and slammed on his brakes at the edge of the road, "What?"

"We got in late last night and," she paused to sniff, "And I wanted to let him have the day off school today because he was so tired," she paused again, "He was so tired."

"Becca, calm down, tell me what happened." He was seething on the inside and crying out in agony, but he needed to remain strong for Rebecca so he could get as much information as possible.

He heard her take a couple of deep breaths and then continue, "I let him sleep in and made him pancakes. I was so focussed on having a good morning with him...I should have checked on him sooner." Her voice was becoming hysterical again, "His bed was empty and he's not anywhere in the house."

"Rebecca, are you sure?"

"Seeley, I thought maybe he'd run away again, and I called his school, I called your work and you weren't there. And he isn't there. And-"

He ran his hand across his forehead; the word scared didn't even cover it. It didn't even come close.

"I'm gonna find him, Becca. OK?"

"I know you will."

They hung up and Booth laid his head against his seat, willing tears not to fall. Some person had his son. And some person had his Bones.

The tears were harder to contain than he could have imagined.

..:::..

**How'd we go with that one? Feel believable? I truly do hate writing dialogue, so I apologise if this one seemed forced.**

**Chapter 7 is in the works. Sorry again guys!**

**Em**

**xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Nothing much to say about this one except it's a bit Booth/Brennan lacking so it wasn't the funnest to write hehe. **

**Hope it's OK to read though. **

**Disclaimer: Think about it...if you owned Bones, would you write fanfic? Or just incorporate your thoughts into the actual show. **

**Enjoy.**

..:::..

The Man in the Memory

Chapter Six

..:::..

_A day later... _

"Parker, you need to stay awake."

The young boy looked at her, wide eyed and teary, "But I'm so tired."

Brennan pursed her lips and moved closer to her partner's son, "Parker, you have a bruise on your anterior-" she paused, he was only eight years old, "On your forehead," she amended, "That means you've hit your head on something and you could have a concussion."

Parker looked at her, confused.

"You just can't sleep at the moment, Parker. Otherwise I might not be able to wake you up easily."

The young boy nodded, "Like when dad was asleep."

She knew he was referring to the coma and her heart broke a little for him. She pulled him into a hug and held onto him tight.

Every now and again she would poke him to tickle him and keep him awake.

..:::..

_Present day..._

"Check that one too," Booth pointed to a pile of files sitting on Brennan's desk, "They're cases we've only just worked. She's been in interrogations with Sweets a bit; I don't know if people have been threatening her or not."

Hodgins grabbed the pile off the desk while Booth called Rebecca again to see how the FBI forensics team was going at her house.

"They're just packing up now, Seeley."

"Thanks. We're going to find him Rebecca, I promise"

"I know."

He hung up and turned his attention back to the bustling room around him.

It had taken him precisely three minutes to get back to the Jeffersonian and get the squints working on the case. He'd called the FBI and told them to go straight to Rebecca's house and search for any hint of a clue of what had happened to his son and meanwhile he had everyone else going through case files from the last four years.

"She had a hit put out on her by a gang leader, Ortez, a few years ago; has somebody checked that out?"

Hodgins, who had been stewing for a while, stood up, "Look man, I know you're agitated and scared and worried out of your mind, but I think you should consider that this is too much of a coincidence. Your son and your partner go missing on the same day; you don't think they're together?"

Booth stared at the doctor and anyone else would have been intimidated, but Hodgins persisted, "We've been looking at case files all day and nothing has stood out; gang leaders do not carry out hits four years later. You don't think we should be looking for someone who you've pissed off? Not someone she has?"

Booth let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, with a weakness that he wouldn't show unless he was desperate he said, "All her cases are my cases; please find something."

They all saw the defeated stance of the FBI Agent and knew this was killing him more than he was letting on. He looked at his watch noting that it had been almost ten hours since he had last seen his partner; two weeks and ten hours since he had last seen his son, "I'm gonna get some air."

Everyone that was crowded around him just nodded their approval, Booth obviously needed a time-out.

He walked slowly out to the parking lot of the Medico-Legal Laboratory, taking in everything around him, hoping desperately that something would take his mind off the fact that the two most important people in his life were missing. Then he felt guilty for wanting to forget and instead he focussed on every tiny detail.

His son, his son was eight years old and probably scared out of his mind. Booth had no idea if he was alone or not and if he was...

He wouldn't think about that.

They had to be together, Parker and Bones had to be together. But who would take them?

Hodgins was right. Whether he would admit that out loud was another issue entirely, but right now, in the solitude of his thoughts, Booth could see that Hodgins was right.

Someone was using the people he loved to get to him. The question still remained though. Who?

"Agent Seeley Booth?"

Booth turned around and saw a young man approaching him. The sun was setting and the light was dimming however he was sure that this man approaching him could have only been 18. As he drew closer though he pulled out a badge and identified himself as Agent Glen Bishop.

"I'm with the forensics department, they sent me over with the evidence your team requested."

Booth took a moment to compose himself and began to follow the young man to his vehicle to help him with the boxes of evidence.

He was so distracted by his thoughts, so engrossed in just trying to find his partner and his son that he didn't even realise that Agent Bishop matched Rosie's description exactly.

Tall, dark, handsome, boyish looking and driving a blue van.

..:::..

"Guys, Booth's been gone a while, I'm gonna go see how he's doing."

Angela stood up and stretched her arms above her head, peering out into the laboratory from the office they were in, "Hodgins, there's some forensics guys bringing stuff in out there, you might have something more you can do than look at these files."

He nodded and stood as well, both of them walking towards the door.

"I'll come with you Hodgins," Cam left the file she was reading and joined the other two, "There's nothing in these files, we need evidence."

As Cam and Hodgins walked towards the platform where several techs were waiting with boxes of samples collected from both the sniper scene and Parker's bedroom, Angela made her way outside to find the FBI Agent whose world was falling apart.

"Booth?" No answer, "Booth? You out here?"

Still no answer.

The artist knew that her friend was upset, they all were, but she also knew that he would answer a call if it was made, no matter the state he was in.

Figuring he must have gone for a walk she pulled out her cell phone and dialled his number, hoping to talk some sense into him, maybe lead him to see what Hodgins and the rest of the team had seen a long time before he'd started dumping piles of case files on them.

"Agent Seeley Booth's phone," a young man sounding answered the phone.

Angela was momentarily thrown back, "Uh hi, is Agent Booth there?"

The man seemed to be weak in his deliverance of speech, as though he was tired, worn down, "Agent Booth is currently unavailable. I would appreciate it if nobody tries calling again, this is already far too complicated, more complicated than it should be, so please."

And he hung up.

With the voice still fresh in her mind and shock still fresh in her heart she ran back inside so the scene of Cam and Hodgins calmly putting together a catalogue of the evidence from the two scenes, "Guys," they looked up at the alarm in her voice, "He's got Booth."

..:::..

**Next chapter will be up soon. **

**Em**

**xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**This one's a little short. I have a fair amount of stuff that has to go into the next chapter, so this one just needed to be out of the way to let that happen. I apologise for the wait between chapters too. I had exams, but I am officially finished my first year of university now, so plenty more time for fanfic. :)**

**Disclaimer: Bones owners don't have to do first year uni exams; therefore, I mustn't be a Bones owner. It's horrible to make that connection. **

**Enjoy.**

..:::..

The Man in the Memory

Chapter Seven

..:::..

"It's classified information Ange, you can't break that system."

She held up her hand in answer, concentrating hard on the computer screen in front of her, "I've designed programs, cracked codes from CIA Agents, this will be one moment. Please stand back."

She typed in a few symbols on the screen before them and the words "Access Granted" blinked back at them.

Hodgins looked at her, stunned, "I will never underestimate you again."

Angela for her part, just nodded, "You'd be a wise man."

Cam was helping the forensics team on their third scene for the day pertaining to the same case and it was just Angela and Hodgins in the lab working at finding out what Booth had done in his past, "We know it has to be someone with it out for Booth. The two most important people in his life and now him, I just hope they all make it out of this."

"Well, we can have a look at his history, but after that, I don't know what else there is," he shook his head, "I mean, when Booth aims he hits his target every time and if we're looking at one of his old marks as a suspect, they're all going to be dead."

Angela was already rolling through the database of faces, "There are over forty people here, I had no idea," Her stomach dropped at the thought of the man that she worked with on a regular basis shooting people for a living, it was a hard thing to take in, "Maybe you should go help Cam, I'm going to be a while."

He patted her shoulder as he turned to leave, "OK, but what are you looking for?"

She felt surprisingly warm as his hand brushed over her bare shoulder, "Anything to get them back."

..:::..

She had been hearing the noises for a while now. She assumed it must have been all through the night. A small ray of light was cast on the floor from a crack somewhere she couldn't see indicating that it was morning. She had lost count of the hours though; unable to sleep and let Parker sleep, Booth would never forgive her if anything happened to his son. She thought for a second and realised that she would never be able to forgive _herself_ if anything happened to Booth's son. The noises from what she could only assume was the next room had aided her intent of not sleeping though. Someone had not pleased their captor it seemed and was being rather brutally punished.

She could only hope that Parker hadn't grasped what was happening in the next room. An experience like that would only traumatise the boy.

She instinctively shifted back when the door to their room was unlocked and clicked open, a lack of sleep made her paranoid and weak, she knew she couldn't defend herself against that man so her best hope was to at least keep Parker safe.

The man didn't speak and Brennan was still amazed at how he could command such a presence in that room when he looked so young. He walked to them and she saw something that gave her hope, she saw a sadness in his eyes she hadn't seen the day before, something was wearing him down. But the hope was shifted to survival mode as a cotton bag was draped over her head, Parker's squirming and noises of disgruntlement indicated that his face had been hidden also. She felt her hands being yanked from the child and a cord being placed and tightened around her wrists.

The door clicked shut again.

..:::..

Hodgins approached Cam on the platform. She was bent over tables full of evidence. The forensics team had been thorough if nothing else. She heard him stepping toward her and turned to greet him with a tired smile. No words were spoken in a mutual understanding of the weight of the issue hit both scientists. If Cam had something to add to the small amount of knowledge they had she would have told him the second he was in earshot. She had nothing.

They had nothing.

No leads, no evidence pointing to any leads and no intuitive leaps provided by a certain FBI agent to help them along.

Cam pushed a box of trace evidence towards Hodgins who eagerly dug his arm in. If there was something to find, the Medico Legal laboratory team would find it.

..:::..

**The next chapter is written. The more of you review, the faster it appears online... **

**Tease much? :)**

**Em**

**xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**This one's the big one. Hold on tight. **

**And all you folk who have bets on who the man is...this is the one you're after.**

**Disclaimer: On Halloween, there were so many skeletons out on the street...I asked them all if I could own their bones and not even that could happen...I have no hope with the TV show.**

**Enjoy.**

..:::..

"What have we got so far?"

Hodgins looked at the evidence lying before him, shaking his head. Cam watched him expectantly, "A whole bunch of little things that add up to nothing."

"Tell me. We need to play Booth in this one."

He ran his hands down his face; a sign of frustration, "OK," he sighed, "We have a Morrisey suit."

"Morrisey?"

"Some designer who released his clothing into Wal-Mart at discount prices."

"OK, cheap designer suit. What else?"

"Cheap designer shoes too, with traces of phosphogypsum and desulphogypsum in the shoe print."

"Gypsum? Plasterboard?"

Hodgins nodded, "Exactly."

"OK, anything else?"

Angela came striding out of her office, "I know who."

Cam's eyes widened at the news, discarding anything that Hodgins had to offer to the conversation, "Who?"

Opening up a file on the computer screen for the others to see, Angela began speaking very quickly.

"Well, Hodgins put the idea in my head that none of Booth's targets would still be alive, and it got me thinking, if you were a family member of someone who go shot by a sniper, you'd be pretty pissed,"

"Angela, hard facts, now." Cam prompted, knowing that the artist could ramble when she was nervous. And knowing her best friend was in danger definitely induced nerves.

She shook her head, "Right, I apologise." The file she had been trying to locate popped up on the screen, "Javor Radick. His father, a man who had led over two hundred people to their deaths, was killed by Booth ten years ago, on this boy's birthday." She scrolled down as she spoke, "According to the report, Javor went into foster care in Serbia and was released only a few weeks ago when he turned 18. America was his first destination in mind when he got out."

Both Cam and Hodgins shook their heads, "And now he wants to avenge his father's death."

"But why take Parker and Bren?" Angela questioned. She was sure of her analysis of the situation, but it still confused her why her best friend and that little boy needed to be dragged into it, "Why not just Booth?"

Hodgins suddenly nodded, putting the pieces together in his mind, "This all started with a sniper shot to the one person he loved, and now he tried and failed to end it in the same fashion."

Cam cottoned on to the lined of thought and added, "And when it all went wrong,"

"He over compensated," Angela finished.

The three sighed, all aware that they were running out of time. Revenge on this one would have been a long time coming for Javor and due to his already unstable plans, there was no telling how long Booth, Brennan and Parker had to live.

"So we have the 'who' and the 'what he was wearing'. We still need everything else."

..:::..

She couldn't tell how long it had been. Parker had been whimpering for a long time now and that was the only sound. The poor child was so frightened and she couldn't even offer him the comfort of a hug. Angela had once told her that a simple touch could convey comfort and she couldn't even do that.

"Parker?" She heard him sniff.

"Yes."

"I need you to do something for me. We're going to play a game."

"I'm so tired, Bones."

It broke her heart to hear her nickname said in such a tired tone, "I know, Parker, but we're going to try something to get ourselves out of here."

She heard him shift, perhaps trying to look her way, "I thought my daddy was coming."

"Your father is coming. He always comes to the rescue," She thought it best to make Booth sound like some sort of superhero, but even as she said it, she realised what she was saying was the truth. Booth always did come to the rescue and she hoped more than anything that he was on his way right now, "We just have to do something to help him."

"OK."

She sighed, glad that Parker had agreed. She didn't want to put any further stress on the child than necessary.

"OK. I need you to sit up where you are and speak to me, I'm going to find you and sit with my back to you." She heard some shuffling and assumed that he was doing what he was told.

"I'm really dizzy. Will I have to stay up for long?"

Another wave of emotion hit her. The man who had done this to them was going to pay. He could hurt her as much as he wanted, but Parker... She just felt very protective of Parker.

"No Sweetheart, not long." She shuffled in the sound of his voice, finding him easily in the small room, "I'm going to try undoing the rope, so I need you to sit still for me, OK?"

As she reached behind her for the bindings on Parker's wrists she felt him reach for her, the boys hand wrapped around hers and squeezed it tightly, "I'll try my hardest for you, Bones."

She closed her eyes beneath the hood and blinked back tears as she squeezed Parker's hand back.

The rope was tied in a hurry, but it was tied tight and Brennan had some issues getting enough of a grasp on it to pull it free. Eventually she felt something loosen and was able to pull some of the cord away from the knot. From that point it was easy to pull the rest away and Parker was soon free. She heard him scramble around to the front of her and felt as he lifted the bag from her head.

She took a breath of fresh air and smiled at the boy, "Thank you, Parker."

He smiled weakly back at her, a shadow of his former bright self, "Do you want me to undo your ropes too?"

"Yes please."

Parker made quick work of the ropes, explaining to Brennan that Booth had taught him all about knots one weekend.

"Parker, you've done such a great job. What's say we try to find a way out of here now?"

Parker nodded and Brennan could see some of his spark returning, maybe if she could get him out now, everything would be OK. He hadn't seen or heard too much, this would all just be a distant memory in no time to an eight year old.

As they started to move towards the door, they heard clicks indicating that the door was being unlocked. Brennan pulled Parker to her chest and moved back a little bit, planning on attacking their assailant when he walked in.

However, as the door opened she was not granted the sight of their captor, but a man bound to a seat. It was clear by the way the bag over his head was placed that the man was knocked out or... She didn't consider the alternative.

Paralysed in the realisation of who that man was, Brennan tucked Parker's head down and covered his eyes. She stared at the scene before her as the young man dragged the unconscious man into the room. She stared from the striped socks to the Cocky belt buckle to the bright tie and knew, without a shadow of a doubt that her partner lay beneath that hood.

Javor Radick walked to the front of Booth and pulled the hood from his head, waking a battered man from his unconscious state.

The partners stared in horror at each other, neither knowing what to do. The pain in the other's eyes almost too much to bear. A sob broke loose from Parker and Brennan looked down to see that he had turned his head and could see his father.

Javor looked at the three of them in disgust, "We're going to play a game."

..:::..

**Don't hate me yet...I promise it's going to be OK. Until then reviews are much welcome.**

**Em**

**xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**So I believe somewhere at the beginning of this tale I told you lovely folk there was no timeline in the greater scheme of things. I changed my mind. It's set approximately 2 weeks after the season 5 opener. It just needed to be done. :)**

**Disclaimer: It was pointed out to me that I have funny disclaimers so I guess I should live up to expectations and write something funny. Maybe... (If I was the owner of Bones I wouldn't have to write witty disclaimers...Just saying.) What? Not funny? Oh. Sorry. ;)**

**Enjoy.**

..:::..

The Man in the Memory

Chapter 9

..:::..

_Two Weeks Ago..._

"I love you," She looks at his face in fear. Fear that it could be the new Booth telling her this. Fears that it's not her Booth. This Booth doesn't know that he hates clowns; this Booth doesn't know that he wears stripy socks and this Booth might not be the Booth that she wants to hear those words from.

And then he justifies it, "In a professional 'atta girl kind of way," and although it stings, she feels like it's right that he's said that. It's right that he's put a meaning to his words, because she wants to say the words back to him and when she does, she wants them to be right coming from her lips. There can be no take backs on this decision, her heart cannot handle it.

So she tells him she loves him too and justifies it in the same manner with a playful punch to his arm. She knows that one day she'll be able to tell him the truth and he knows the same. They just need to be sure.

..:::..

The look in his eyes speaks volumes of his feelings for her. She can see the intensity of the pain, the intensity of the anguish. He wants to comfort her and she can't accept the comfort because she's locked in a position 5 feet away from him holding his shaking son in her arms.

"We're going to play a game."

Booth's eyes snap to Javor, instantly suspicious. Nothing good can come of this "game".

"It's a simple question and answer game. Seeley will answer."

Brennan pulls Parker closer still and makes sure his head is tucked down. She doesn't want him to see anything. Nothing might happen, but she will not risk it. She can see it means the world to Booth that his son is protected at all costs.

"I will not answer your questions, Radick. You're as evil as your father."

Javor's eyes locked on Booth's, "My father was a good man. A good man that you killed. It took me so long to find you and you_ will_ play along or you won't get your choice."

Suddenly Brennan put the pieces together. Booth's ripped shirt, his bruised face, his tired appearance and the fact that he had been unconscious when he was first brought in. He was the person she had been hearing resisting all night. Booth was the reason that they had been left alone for the night. He had been trying to save them harm by putting himself in harm's way.

She choked back a sob and Booth's eyes flicked to her, his heartbreak evident. She could see it in his eyes that he already knew the question he was going to have to answer and she could also see that it was a question that he didn't want to ever have to answer.

"I will not answer any questions you ask," he repeated, his voice never cracking.

Javor didn't look as though Booth's resolve was affecting him in any way; in fact his face was poised in what could only be described as a sneer, "What I am doing for you, Seeley, is giving you a chance that my father never got. I am giving you the chance to save a life."

"Your father killed more people than he ever saved. Given the choice, he would have killed more. I do not regret my shot."

Brennan had not taken her eyes off Booth, but now she let them slide to Javor to see his reaction. He was shaking his head, clearly deluded to thinking that his father was a good man. And Brennan realised with a start, that to him, his father was just his father. Nothing more, nothing less. Her mind flashed to Arlington National Cemetery, it was a sunny day and she and Booth sat on a bench, him telling her of his hardships, her listening, a comforting hand on his arm.

This was the man that the little boy had grown into. That little boy who had watched his dad die had turned into this man.

Javor raised a gun in the air, pointing at no one, just posing a threat. Brennan looked to Parker, his head still tucked down and then to Booth. His eyes were telling her to look after his son and that's all. She shook her head, fearful at what he was insinuating. He nodded again, making it clear that as long as she and Parker got out alive everything he did in the next few minutes would be justified.

She let the tears spring to her eyes as she watched him turn to Javor, accepting his fate.

..:::..

"Put it all together, what do we get?"

The evidence was in scattered piles in front of the team, "We don't have a lot, Cam."

She looked at him, anger glinting in her eye, he didn't back down as he stared back, aware that she was just as anxious as he was, "You've worked with a lot less than this, Dr Hodgins, now please, help me brainstorm. Maybe we can find a common link in all of this."

Hodgins nodded, rubbing his hand across his forehead and mumbling to himself. Angela was writing on her notepad, hoping to find a link, "Plasterboard usually means a construction site, yeah?"

The other two nodded, "Yeah."

"Well," she moved to a computer monitor, "Maybe we should look at construction sites around Wal-Mart shopping centres." She entered her data into the program and hit enter, finding 3 possible sites in the Virginia and Maryland area.

"Good thinking Angela." Cam commended.

"There's a reason Booth seems to think I'm the normal one around here."

They all shared a smile before turning back to the monitor, "OK, can we narrow it down any further?"

"Radick's here under stealth, he wouldn't want to draw attention to himself by acquiring more paper work than necessary," Hodgins started, "So he wouldn't have gotten an international drivers licence."

"Oh I see," Angela was already on the phone, "If we call the airport, find his records and then find out which taxi service drove to any one of these locations..."

"We'll get him. Good job guys. Let's get on to this."

..:::..

"Good choice Seeley. Now here's another one for you."

Booth stared without moving, unsure of what Javor's next move was going to be.

Javor pointed the gun at Brennan's head and cocked it. All that could be heard in the dark room was whimpers of fear. Without a word, Javor moved the gun from Brennan's head to Booth's, "You or them?"

Booth's eyes flashed, clearly not expecting a question like that, "No. Neither. I can't... You can't."

Javor sighed and pointed the gun back at Brennan and Parker, "I can and I will. I am giving you the choice Seeley. Your life or the lives of your loved ones?"

Booth looked at Brennan one more time and to his son with eyes gleaming with tears, the one word that passed his lips stopped Brennan's world.

"Me."

..:::..

**I had reservations about leaving this one here, but I think I can make it work. Too late now, if I can't. Lol. **

**I love reviews... I'm just putting it out there.**

**Em**

**xx**


	10. Chapter 10

**Picks up exactly where the last chapter left off. **

**Had some issues with this one, so I hope it's OK. And may I just say WOW....I made it to 10 chapters; this is a big moment for me. :) I think I've personally thanked every review that has come my way but I just wanna say another thank you at this milestone. Don't worry, there are more chapters to come, I just wanna say thanks :) Also, a big thank you to all the lovely anonymous reviewers that I can't reply to...you guys all help make my day. **

**Disclaimer: I had a dream that I owned Bones....That counts for something right?**

**Enjoy.**

..:::..

The Man in the Memory

Chapter Ten

..:::..

"Me."

Javor did not look happy, nor did he look remorseful. He just looked as though he was carrying out a necessary chore, "Make the boy look."

Booth shook his head, "I made my choice Radick; you do not have to make this about my boy."

"I want your boy to feel how I felt. To not know what had happened, or why."

"Look, Javor, I know you've had a lot of time to think about this and I know that you want to avenge your father's death, so please, do that, but please don't make my son watch." Booth stared defiantly at the young man. If there was one battle he would never stand down from it was protecting his son.

There was a sinister silence in the room. Booth awaited the shot that would take him from this world and Brennan looked on, tears threatening to fall.

"Javor," he glanced at her, "Javor, it doesn't have to be this way." Javor looked at her, anger evident in his gaze.

"It does Temperance. It has to happen like this."

She shook her head, "No, you can still get out of here without hurting anyone. You can leave here a bigger man than your father."

Javor slowly but deliberately trained the gun on her again, "My father was a good man. You do not understand."

Brennan did not stand down, "This little boy in my arms. Do you want his to feel how you've felt your whole life? Would you wish that upon another human being?" Booth looked at her in fear. Javor had lowered the gun so that it hung dangerously close to where Parker was situated. There was a moment where Brennan thought she had gotten through to their captor, but then just as suddenly as that moment had arrived, it disappeared as Javor turned his gun back to Booth.

"The boy doesn't have to watch. But I will get my revenge." He faced Brennan for a moment more, "If you interrupt me again, I will kill all of you."

There wasn't a thing she could do but wait. If she moved, she put Parker in danger and if Booth survived and Parker didn't... She didn't want to even fathom it.

The reality being placed before her right now wasn't one she wanted to face either, but Booth had entrusted her with his son.

She couldn't fail him, no matter how much she'd rather die than see him die.

..:::..

The sirens weren't loud enough and the engines weren't fast enough. The three squints sat in the back of one of the convoy of FBI squad cars that were winding their way through the city to the Virginia based construction site for a new apartment block.

"Can't we get there faster?"

The Agents looked flustered at the thought of being bossed around by a squint but did not slow down. This man had one of their own and when they were involved it was easy to tell where the FBI's loyalties fell, "We're going to take a back way, cut a minute off our time, plus no traffic."

Hodgins pulled on a bullet proof vest as the Agents watched in disdain, "You keep back. We'll let you come in, the hostages will need comfort from a familiar face, but you will keep back during any combat."

Hodgins nodded solemnly. Honestly promising to stay out of the way except when needed.

There was a large white building looming up ahead. Their destination. Caution tape was fluttering in the breeze outside alerting them to the fact that this was the right residence.

The sirens were turned off as they neared and the last mile of the drive was spent in a tense silence.

The Agents all piled out of the cars and started to spread out around the building. One Agent took Hodgins by the arm and led him into the building making sure he was covered at all times.

Keeping their voices low they discussed where they thought the action would be taking place. Hodgins suggested they'd be looking for a closed off room in a hidden area of the building.

"This place is huge," the Agent commented.

"It was meant to be an apartment block, but the recession meant the builders went bankrupt and had to abandon it. Radick researched it all and came here as soon as he landed."

The Agent shook his head, "Come on, we best keep moving."

They turned corner after corner, coming into contact with other Agents, all converging in one place, heading towards one door. There was a row of rooms; all had lights coming from under the doorways except one.

"That one," someone whispered and all eyes trained to that one door.

The Agents pushed Hodgins back as they prepared themselves.

..:::..

The shot that rang out in the air was deafening. Brennan squeezed her eyes shut and suppressed a scream. It was best for Parker if he didn't know how much this ordeal was hurting her. If he had some stability to look up to, there was still a chance he would be alright.

She tried to block the sounds out footsteps coming towards her; she should have known that Radick wouldn't stop with Booth. She pulled Parker closer to her, his arms wrapped around her tightly as she cried.

It was only as she heard what sounded like a body fall to the ground that she looked up. Booth had been in a seat, he couldn't fall.

The scene before her flooded her heart with happiness. There were FBI Agents surrounding them, Radick was on the ground, a fatal shot to his chest was pumping blood around him and Booth, her Booth was alive and smiling, tears in his eyes. Brennan didn't hesitate; she pulled Parker from her side and whispered that it was all OK. He nodded to her and hugged her.

"I thought Daddy was going to get hurt."

Brennan turned Parker toward Booth, "Look sweetheart, he's OK. Let's go untie his ropes."

Parker ran to his father, wrapping his arms around his middle while the Agents formed a guard around Radick, making sure that the young boy didn't see anything. The paramedics were rushing in around them having received the call not long after the shot had been made.

Hodgins called the others and told them to come in. Brennan saw him from where she was standing and stepped toward him, catching his eye, she thanked him silently. He nodded, knowing that she needed to be with Booth more than anything. He could wait to welcome her back.

Brennan watched as Parker untied his father's ropes and ran to him as soon as he stood up, hugging him with every ounce of energy she could muster. She pulled back and looked at his face, taking a chance she leaned towards him, letting their foreheads touch as they synchronized their breathing allowing themselves a moment of peace.

Parker, having finished pulling the ropes away from Booth came around to join him and hug his father again. Booth lifted his son into his arms and held him tight, looking at Brennan he whispered, "Thank you, Bones."

She nodded, allowing the father and son to have a moment to themselves as she was embraced by her team in a flurry of arms and words of comfort.

..:::..

**Let the recovery begin.**

**Hope everyone's still liking it and the rescue wasn't TOO corny and cliché. **

**Em**

**xx**


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